24 Chinese warplanes detected around Taiwan, Taipei claims
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Taiwan claims that 24 Chinese aircraft and five Chinese naval vessels were detected around the island in 24 hours.
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This image from a video provided by the US Department of Defense shows an intercept of a US warplane by Chinese aircraft in the Pacific Ocean on April 29, 2022 (AP)
The Taiwanese Defense Ministry claimed on Thursday that 24 Chinese warplanes were detected around Taiwan, 11 of which crossed the median line separating the island from China, in addition to five ships.
The aircraft and ships were detected within 24 hours, and they followed a presidential race that saw the Democratic Progressive Party winning the seat, awaiting inauguration in May 2024.
For the legislature, the DPP earned 51 seats, the Kuomintang, which promotes dialogue with Beijing, gained 52 seats, and the Taiwan People's Party secured eight seats. The DPP was once represented in Taiwan's legislative assembly by 62 legislators, meaning it has lost 11 seats in the current elections.
Furthermore, the Taiwanese Central News Agency reported that for the first time since 2004, no party gained a legislative majority of at least 57 seats.
"11 of the detected aircraft had crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait or entered Taiwan's southwest and north (air defence identification zone)," the Ministry said.
Ahead of DPP candidate Lai Ching-te and his Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim's victory, a half-American, former representative of Taiwan to the United States, China warned that their win would bring "war and decline" to the small US-backed island.
Read more: 'We do not support' Taiwan independence Biden says after Lai's victory
China did not send an out-of-the-ordinary fleet in the aftermath of the election, but this incident could be in response to the elections with the lowest turnout rate in decades, with the sole exception of the 2016 election.
Diplomatic ties in decline
According to a CNBC report from Xinhua, Chen Binhua, the spokesperson for the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, expressed on Saturday that "Taiwan is China's Taiwan," emphasizing that the election does not change "the basic pattern and the development of cross-Strait relations" or change "the basic landscape and development trend of cross-Strait relations".
Amid China's warnings of decline for the island, Taiwan has a dwindling supply of diplomatic allies, with only 12 remaining after Nauru announced severing diplomatic relations with Taiwan in line with a UN resolution that recognizes China as the sole legal government representing the whole of China, affirming that it would seek to resume full diplomatic relations with China.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi declared, "As an independent sovereign country, the Republic of Nauru announces that it recognizes the one-China principle, breaks the so-called diplomatic ties with the Taiwan authorities, and is willing to reestablish diplomatic ties with China. China appreciates and welcomes the decision of the government of the Republic of Nauru." He then added that this decision showed "the one-China principle is where global opinion trends and where the arc of history bends."
Without Nauru, Taiwan only has Paraguay, Belize, Guatemala, Haiti, Marshall Islands, Palau, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Eswatini, Tuvalu, and Vatican City as the states that recognize it. Taipei promotes its foreign contacts through economic and cultural representation offices.
